Welcome to The Simple Leader

Simplicity, flow, respect for people, reflection, observing the present state, humility, beginner’s mind, inquiry, a search for perfection. These are just some of the concepts shared between Lean, also known as the Toyota Production System, and Zen.

In The Simple Leader, author Kevin Meyer describes how he discovered and leveraged Lean on his thirty-year leadership journey from engineer to President of a medical device company. Then, when faced with a very stressful family health situation, he learned about Zen – and soon realized that there were common themes that could be used to improve both personal and professional leadership.

Filled with personal stories, practices, and insight built on experience, The Simple Leader will help new or struggling leaders in any industry become more organized, effective, and balanced.

The book is organized into eight parts, each with a different purpose:

Part One – Fundamentals

Who is the Customer? - A Note on Motivation and Habits - Discovering Lean - A Short History of Lean - The Two Pillars - Core Lean Tools - Discovering Zen - A Short History of Zen - Core Concepts of Zen - Zen and Business - The Nexus of Lean and Zen

Define Principles and Values - What’s Your Why? - Beginner’s Mind - Observe the Now - Document the Current State - Envision the Future State - Create the Hoshin Plan - Short, But Not Too Short - The One Big Thing - All On One Page